At least four people died Monday, September 4, 2023, after an extratropical cyclone dumped extremely heavy rains that triggered severe floods and landslides in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Parts of the northern half of the state received 2 and even 3 months’ worth of September rains in just 72 hours.
On September 2, 2023, the eastern Indian state of Odisha faced an extreme weather event with a staggering 61 000 lightning strikes in just two hours, leading to 12 deaths and 14 injuries.
A torrential downpour caused by the slow-moving storm Dana overwhelmed Spain on September 3, 2023, leading to significant flooding across central and eastern parts of the nation. Marked as the most intense storm of the year, cities on the eastern coast reported record-breaking rainfall amounts.
Typhoon “Haikui” made landfall in Taiwan’s mountainous and sparsely populated eastern county of Taitung, along the coastal township of Donghe, at about 07:40 UTC (15:40 LT) with winds up to 155 km/h (96 mph).
Hurricane “Idalia” intensified from Category 1 to Category 4 in just 24 hours and made landfall shortly before 08:00 EDT (12:00 UTC) on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, near Keaton Beach in Florida’s Big Bend. The hurricane officially hit as a Category 3 storm with winds reaching 200 km/h (125 mph).
Idalia has strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane and is expected to become a major hurricane tonight before it reaches the Big Bend coast of Florida. It is likely to still be a hurricane while moving across southern Georgia, and possibly when it reaches the coast of Georgia or southern South Carolina on Wednesday.
Tropical Storm “Idalia” formed in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday, August 27, 2023, as the 10th named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. The system is still strengthening and is expected to make landfall in Florida as a Category 2 or 3 hurricane on Wednesday, August 30.
Tropical Storm “Harold” — the first Atlantic tropical cyclone to make landfall in the US for 2023, hit South Texas on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, delivering torrential rains and localized flash floods in areas along the Mexico border. This sudden impact came mere hours after its upgrade from a tropical depression on its trajectory across the Gulf of Mexico.
Tropical Storm “Hilary” — previously a Category 4 hurricane — reached California on August 20, 2023, marking its position as one of the rare storms to maintain integrity upon reaching the state. The storm, with surface winds over 80 km/h (50 mph), brought with it record-breaking rainfall and caused widespread flooding and power outages across the region.
Hilary rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane at 06:00 UTC on August 18, 2023, and continued moving WNW toward Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Significant flooding impacts are possible across portions of the Baja California Peninsula and the southwestern United States.
